A/N: okay! So I had a long day. I did myself a nice desktop and I think all is well enough.

My brain is fried.

Chapter Eighteen

Arturia received a message from her people in Ulster. Queen Maeve was attacking at Cooley to get at their prized bull. For whatever purpose, the messenger didn�t say, but that Maeve of Connacht was attacking for a bull seemed ridiculous enough! �Over such a silly little battle!� growled Arturia before tossing the parchment over her shoulder.

Emiya was working on her bed, attempting to make it level and restuff the pillows. As she watched him, she saw the small smile on his face as he worked. She picked up another letter and looked it over. Cuchulainn had been brought into the conflict on Ulster�s behalf. He was due to fight when Maeve arrived, though how was another problem altogether. Should he fight the selfish queen, he would be against her entire army alone.

Arturia tapped her finger to her lips gently while she thought heavily on the conflict in Ireland. Cuchulainn was having to fight alone against the forces of Connacht. Maeve seemed like a very domineering woman when she had been at Camelot and would likely despise any form of defeat. She would most likely use whatever means she had within her grasp to fight Cuchulainn to get to that bull.

The thought of it all made Arturia angry. She wanted Cuchulainn for herself, to be certain, but she didn�t want him to die. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, remembering that strange dream where she had kissed his cheek. Why did it feel so real?

Emiya watched her from across the room and stood when he had finished with the bed, but did not start on the pillows. �My queen, what troubles you?� he asked.

Arturia�s eyes opened and she saw the sharp reality of the world in front of her. She wasn�t in her little dream where she was being sung about by the Hound of Ulster, earning him a kiss on the cheek of her appreciation, she was in her room and Emiya was still watching her. She shook her head. �A storm is brewing in Ireland, Emiya. Cuchulainn has been dispatched to take care of it.�

Emiya frowned. He had seen the young man, about his age, in fact, and wondered how he could stop a storm. �How� can he stop a storm?�

Arturia blinked and looked up. �Eh? Oh.. apologies, Emiya, I meant that a very big and nasty row is about to start in Ireland. It seems Queen Maeve of Connacht is trying to invade to steal a bull from Ulster.

Emiya watched Arturia for a moment more before putting his tools on the bed and sitting. �Why has he been sent? Does he not have others backing him?�

�I don�t know why he was sent alone, however, it seems he only has his� charioteer and horse backing him and that�s it.� She hated to think the nice Conochbar was not trying to send Cuchulainn to his death.

Emiya watched Arturia for a moment more, watching her as the doll like mask seemed to slip a little, showing a very worried look. She must be very worried for this man Cuchulainn for her to show it! �If you are� worried for the welfare of Cuchulainn� shouldn�t you go to see if he needs more aid? Bring Camelot�s army to Ulster?�

Arturia shook her head. �No, if I bring my army in, they might attack me thinking I am trying to invade. I would need to go either alone or with only a few people to protect me.�

�I�ll go with you,� said Emiya, smiling. Arturia�s gaze snapped toward him. He blushed faintly and scratched his nose so he wouldn�t have to see her eyes upon him. �I am training to fight for my queen as an assassin, so why not have me with you to protect you, should you need protecting.�

Arturia�s surprised face melted back to its usual cold mask, though slightly less chilly. �That is a fine idea, Emiyashirou. Bedivere would come along as well as Gawain. Merlin would stay here as steward while Bedivere and Gawain are here and all will be well,� she said. She smiled very faintly and Emiya seemed transfixed by that faint smile toward him. �Thank you.�

It had been the first time since he had come to the castle that she had thanked him for something. The shock caused Emiya to blush heavily, but a confident grin played across his face, much like Gawain. �I�ll not fail you, my queen.�

Arturia, meanwhile, simply wouldn�t let herself stop. A devil seemed to have taken her over as she rode hard for days and slept only when she couldn�t ride anymore. When Bedivere had asked his queen why she drove everyone so hard toward Ireland, she told him it was because she wanted to see to someone�s welfare.

�It�s that Cuchulainn, isn�t it,� said Gawain, grinning.

Arturia�s face flushed pink. �And if it was? I had heard he is fighting an entire army on his own, I wish to see that he at least has some support, should he need it.�

�You do realize that he is a womanizer and married, my lady,� said Bedivere, unable to take any more of his queen�s attitude toward the pagan Irishman.

�Seeing to someone�s welfare doesn�t mean I have to agree to their religious beliefs,� said Arturia, not looking at Bedivere.

�Yes, but you�re thinking in terms of marriage!�

Arturia stopped her horse, for once not advancing any further than where she stopped. Bedivere overshot her when she made the sudden stop and turned his horse to face her. �My queen?�

Her face was a cold mask of absolute fury. Bedivere felt the marrow of his bones chill and shatter with her icy glare. �I already know he is married, Bedivere, and he is a soldier, at best a knight, a hero of his people, but he is not royalty that I can marry.�

Gawain thumped Bedivere on his head. �You should know better�n that than to say something like that around her. She�s fancies him very much,� he hissed at the one handed knight.

Bedivere knew Gawain was right, but he couldn�t help feeling so angry that his queen continued to pursue this man who didn�t even believe in their creator as their creator. Even worse, that she wanted this man as her own husband so badly that she would drop whatever she was doing just to see if he was safe or not truly made Bedivere sore.

�Emiya, you stay with Arturia, I�m riding ahead to check the path to the ferry,� said Bedivere.

Emiya eyed Bedivere a moment. �I don�t see a crown on your head,� he said, irritated that he should be ordered by this knight rather than his queen. He had grown very tired of the knights telling him what to do. His pact was not with them, it was with Arturia and Arturia alone.

�Emiya, do as he says, please,� said Arturia.

Emiya looked to Arturia and nodded, looking down. �Yes, my queen.� Then, he nudged his horse over to her side as Bedivere, furious that the boy had ignored him so, galloped ahead of them.

�Well, he�s certainly got his knickers in a twist,� said Gawain. Emiya blinked and chuckled, having started to pick up a few slang terms as he learned everything else. �No worries, cousin, we�ll get to Ulster in time to see Cuchulainn kill them all. I saw what he was like on the battle field and I know he�s got it in him to take them all on single handedly.�

Arturia nodded and watched the retreating back of the smartest of her knights disappear in front of her. When Bedivere came back, they advanced once more to the ferry and took the ferry up to the north of Ireland. On the ferry, they rested comfortably, letting the horses feed on better hay and oats than what they were eating before.

When they reached land, they continued on their journey up to the north most part of Ireland, Ulster. From there, Arturia felt they might be able to find where the battle is by asking about the bull. They kept going until they found the border of Ulster. Arturia had her hood up, but the guards at the border didn�t budge. It was as though they were unable to move.

Bedivere got off his horse and ran over to check the guards. �They�re alive, but they are lying like they are asleep, my queen. What magic is this?�

�It�s a curse,� said Gawain. Arturia looked over to him in surprise. Gawain smiled faintly. �I don�t have to be a wizard to see magic, my dear cousin.� He held up a hand and pointed to his bright green eyes as they seemed to glow slightly. �My eyes never lie. I see the nets of a curse over them; I�d recognize the like anywhere for my mother is a witch, as you know.�

Arturia nodded and looked back to Bedivere. �Get on your horse. I think I have an idea as to why Cuchulainn is fighting alone.� With that, she galloped ahead of them, Emiya following close behind.

�It�d make sense. The bloke�s got more power in him than I�ve seen in even Merlin. He�s not a wizard, but he is powerful,� said Gawain. He grinned. �Seems we might be useful to her yet, my friend!� Then, he hurried after Arturia.

Arturia rode once more like hell itself were on her tail. Emiya, not yet accustomed to riding horses, had trouble trying to keep control of his horse. However, when he faltered behind, Gawain and Bedivere were right behind him and helped him get control of his horse once more.

The sound of a battle was nearby. Bedivere could hear it clearly. He heard the grunts and snarls of two men locked in combat. �It�s nearby, Gawain! She�ll be there before us!�

�Fair enough, she�s a right to go ahead of us!� said Gawain, a broad grin plastered on his face. �Come, my friends! We have a battle to witness!� Then, he rode as hard as Arturia ahead of Bedivere and Emiya.

Bedivere grunted. �I sometimes hate that man for that twisted humor of his,� he said, then looked to Emiya, �Come on, boy, we need to get to our queen before she does something even more rash than this blasted quest!�

Emiya nodded. �Agreed!� Then, he followed the one handed knight after their comrade and their queen.

However, now, none of them were able to tease him now, for they were all incapacitated by the curse Maeve had cast over them. He had already escaped having to fight his own foster father Fergus Mac Roich by striking a deal with him. He had also spent the longest time fighting all of Maeve�s army at the small ford where he had initiated his right to dueling at the ford. His friend and charioteer stayed back in his tent, tending to his horse and chariot and other small amount of possessions.

However, Maeve had performed the ultimate act of cruelty. She had tricked his dear friend, a foster brother from his time on Skye learning from Sgatha beside him, Ferdia. She had tricked him into joining the fight, because he was the only one aside from his foster father that could equal him in battle. The fight he had endured for two days was grueling. He had thought his friend a traitor to him, however, his friend had spoken aright to him about not wanting to join, but he could not back out now.

And Maeve had been right in choosing Ferdia to fight against him, for Cuchulainn had a tendency toward letting his opponent to land blows upon him to get inside their defenses to strike. With that in mind, Ferdia was almost as strong as Cuchulainn and dealt hard blows to him that knocked him off his feet and caused massive wounds on his body. It was everything Cuchulainn could do to keep using his favored tactic to get inside Ferdia�s defenses to deal the blows he had made. The only thing he had left to him was the Gae Bolg, which he wanted to refrain from using against Ferdia, for it was an unfair weapon to use in this fight.

Cuchulainn felt the bite of Ferdia�s sword in his shoulder and felt his fist on his jaw, throwing him back away from his opponent. When Cuchulainn landed on the ground, he rolled away and lay face down for a moment to catch his breath. He hissed and slowly pushed himself up. To keep Maeve from taking their stud bull all the way back to Connacht, he was to keep fighting. He had to win or their bull would be lost to them.

He took a moment to look up at the hills around him. On one side were Maeve�s forces, watching the battle and cheering Ferdia on, telling him to kill Cuchulainn while he was down. Ferdia ignored them willfully and watched his friend from a distance. This would be a fair fight and their strengths alone would decide the victor.

On the other side, Cuchulainn saw the black form of a woman in a black, fur lined, cloak atop a black war horse. A half grin played across his bruised mouth. So the little queen had come to see after him? That was her form he recognized was it not?

He looked to Ferdia and sighed, getting up with his sword in hand. �I�m ready.�

Ferdia nodded and ran at him, sword swinging. Cuchulainn dodged and moved around his friend in a weird dance as he battled his friend and now opponent.

Arturia watched the display with a bit of awe. The man was severely wounded and yet he kept moving. And had that been a smile on his face when he looked up at her? Arturia put a hand on the hilt of Excalibur, safely tucked into Avalon on her belt. He would require a lot of healing potion and blood replenishing potion to survive those wounds after the battle, should he survive against this worthy adversary.

She gasped when Cuchulainn was thrown once more. She saw him roll, blood spilling from his mouth. He had landed a serious blow to his opponent, however, one that caused the man to falter to his knees to catch his breath; however it wasn�t a killing blow. The man coughed blood onto the ground and gripped his side, seemingly cursing as he did so. As he got to his feet, Cuchulainn picked up a blood red spear. She had seen it before on the frontline against Gilgamesh, but had not really noted it before. It was a remarkable looking weapon, shimmering slightly in the dying light of the setting sun.

When he stood up next, he fought Ferdia with the dreaded Gae Bolg. Cuchulainn had not wanted to use it, for it was a terrible weapon, but he could not continue with what he was doing. As Ferdia fought him, he let Ferdia land his hits on him, letting him get inside Ferdia�s defenses. He gathered energy at the spear�s point as he fought, letting the spear�s curse power up, and then, with a single thrust, he pierced Ferdia�s heart.

The shower of blood from Ferdia�s mouth splattered on Cuchulainn�s messy hair and dirty face. Ferdia, now realizing how had won this battle, looked down at the spear point buried in his heart and then smiled faintly at Cuchulainn. �It seems� we know who is the winner� between us, Cuchulainn,� he said softly. Then, he fell from the spear to the ground. Cuchulainn�s red eyes looked down in horror at his friend.

Arturia watched as Cuchulainn fell to his knees beside his victim, watched him gather the young man into his arms and cry. Why did he weep? Had he not simply fought him to win? Was the fellow someone he knew?

The ultimate in irony would have been a battle between friends. Arturia felt this must be what had happened; for she could not understand why he would weep for someone he did not know. She heard him sing softly and felt her heart almost break with the sound, for it was more mournful than anything she had heard.

Gawain and Bedivere sat atop their horses on either side of her while Emiya stayed behind her, turned away to watch for someone coming up from behind. �A braver man I have not seen,� said Gawain. �That man fought a good fight against the hound. He may have lost his life, but he has earned my respect.�

�Same here, Gawain,� said Bedivere.

Arturia watched as a man came from a tent on their side of the ford and went down to collect Cuchulainn. �Don�t go down there, Gawain, Bedivere. Stay here. I will go see to his recovery. Emiya, you come as well and keep watch.�

Emiya turned his horse around and nodded. �Yes, my queen.�

As the young man pulled Cuchulainn up the side of the ford and to the tent, Arturia trotted over with Emiya behind her. She heard Cuchulainn still speaking, though blood dripped from his mouth and tears stained his cheeks. �Oh, my friend, Laeg. Every other battle I�ve fought �till now has been like a game compared to this one I�ve had with Ferdia,� said Cuchulainn as she approached close enough to hear.

Once more, Arturia felt as though her heart were breaking. The pain inside her chest was so much she wondered if it might not be because of a sickness coming over her and not listening to Cuchulainn whimper over the loss of the man he seemed to care so deeply for.

She dismounted from her horse and moved swiftly to the tent on foot, boots sinking into the green grass. As she neared the tent, she heard nothing but small snarls and the occasional imprint of Cuchulainn�s fist in the tentcloth. Laeg must have started trying to treat Cuchulainn�s wounds.

And, indeed, he was at least attempting to, but Cuchulainn was proving very hard to deal with. If he wasn�t biting at him from the pain, he was despondent and depressed. He looked up, however, when a woman with a black fur lined cloak covering her entered. Her hood was drawn up, but she took it down to reveal a head of pale gold hair tied back into a braided bun and held in place with a shining black silk ribbon. Small, silver, crosses adorned her ears, indicating she was indeed a Christian and not of Ireland, for, as far as Laeg knew, Ireland was entirely pagan and the cross did not decorate them.

She looked to Laeg with gold eyes, her face set like that of a doll. �What brings you here, miss?�

�This is the tent of Cuchulainn, correct? I see him wounded on the pallet there, so I should be right. Do you have need of someone to heal him?� she asked.

Laeg offered the potions he had in his hands and she refused them. �I have my own healing method.�

Laeg frowned when she took a very large and heavy looking sword and scabbard from her belt. �Miss, if you try to harm him, I will have to kill you.� Already, his hand was on his sword and drawing it out.

A young man at the tent flap threw a black, curved short sword at him and missed. �Emiya, please stay outside. He will not harm me, for I will do nothing to harm his friend.�

Laeg watched as the unusual looking young man retreat silently, looking a little upset that he wasn�t useful then. Laeg knew the feeling, for he was not useful in taking care of Cuchulainn right now. He nodded toward the woman. �Please, if you have another method that is equal or greater to the best potions in the world, I would welcome it. However, please know that he bites� hard.�

Arturia nodded and moved to Cuchulainn�s side. She moved his hands as carefully as she could and placed Excalibur and Avalon onto his chest. Then, she placed her hand onto the scabbard, closing her eyes and pooling what power she could find within herself into Avalon and Excalibur.

Laeg watched with fascination as the sword and scabbard both responded to their owner and pulled with a light like a heart beat. Immediately, he began to see a change in Cuchulainn�s visage. His face was becoming less bruised and his eye and jaw less swollen. He stirred as the pretty young woman held her head down in what seemed to be a silent prayer. If Christians were this nice, he might marry a Christian woman one day, as she seemed the sweetest woman he had ever seen.

Arturia opened her eyes slightly when she felt a hand come up and caress the nape of her neck. She saw Cuchulainn�s arm raised and his hand behind her, felt his fingers dig into her hair. She looked to his face and saw a smile on his face as he opened his red eyes slightly and gazed at her through his lashes.

It was as though something exploded. One moment Arturia was staring at Cuchulainn in awe and the next, he had used a surprising amount of strength to pull her down on top of him and pressed his mouth hard against hers. She made a strangled noise in her throat as he took her by surprise. She felt his other arm come up and hold her rooted to the spot. The light of Excalibur and Avalon pulsed with a beat like that of a scared bird in a cage. Laeg would have found the entire thing rather amusing had it not been for the strange pulsing light matching the woman�s heart rate, or what it should have been when Cuchulainn surprised her.

His mouth was searing hot, moving against her mouth in odd movements that were foreign to her. She felt his tongue trace her mouth as she felt his hands take the ribbon from her hair and pull her hair from the braided bun that it was regularly put into. His fingers in her hair were almost painful with the fierceness that they dug into her scalp with. And what did he want from her while he used that tongue of his against her mouth? She had never been kissed before and found the idea odd.

He nipped at her lower lip; his teeth grazing her lips and making her feel odd with the sensation. Already her lips were swollen from his hard kisses. When that didn�t seem to satisfy him, he went back to using his tongue against her mouth. Once more, she was confused and needed to breathe. She used what strength she had in her to move away, breathing in, before he pulled her back to his mouth and pried at her mouth once more. She opened her mouth to him and felt the growl come from within his chest, rather than hear it, as he plunged his tongue into her mouth. It was the most wonderful sensation in the world to her. Foreign and yet good.

She moaned very faintly as he coaxed yet more from her, her own tongue darting into his mouth and feeling his slide against hers. Her body felt hot and Excalibur and Avalon both burned underneath her hand as she felt not only her own heart thumping wildly in her breast, but his as well.

�Miss? I think if you don�t move away soon, you�ll be taken by the hound himself,� said Laeg, blushing faintly at the furiousness of how Cuchulainn kissed the young woman. Since she was a Christian, he doubted she would take kindly to being coaxed so passionately into a pagan man�s bed, despite his condition.

Arturia�s sense seemed to come to her with crushing reality. She was partially pulled across Cuchulainn�s body, her hot body pressed firmly against him. She pulled away from him sharply and landed on her rear, Excalibur and Avalon both still sitting on top of Cuchulainn. Her body wasn�t simply hot, it was burning! Her lips felt swollen and she felt an odd hunger inside her for more than what was offered.

She watched as a lazy grin played across his fair face and remembered what Bedivere said. He was a womanizer and married. He most likely was either thinking of his wife or of another conquest. She snatched at Excalibur and found Cuchulainn�s hand take hold of her wrist, pulling her down once more. She kissed back immediately this time, loving the way his lips coaxed still more from her. Still, she needed to get back to her men before something was started that she likely would not be able to stop. His kiss this time, however, was not as mind shattering as the previous one. It was gentle and barely delved into her mouth. Panting, she moved a little bit from him. He leaned his head back and sighed, frowning again as sadness started to overcome him. He was starting to go unconscious, though his wounds were all healed from Avalon feeding healing energy into him.

�I think he should be fine, miss,� said Laeg, coming closer and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. �I think you�ve done more than enough for our hero. Now, I think he needs rest.�

Arturia nodded and put a cold hand to her cheek. �Ah, y-yes, you are quite right,� she said, still panting from the earlier kiss. She stopped when she looked to his ears and thought a moment. He wore earrings in his ears, unlike a good number of men in Camelot. She noticed a large number in Ireland and Scotland tended to wear earrings. She unhooked one of her earrings and took one of his off, putting hers in its place and his on her ear. Then, she moved away and went out, attempting to put her hair back into order before Emiya, Bedivere and Gawain asked why it was down.

Laeg watched her leave and looked to the simple silver cross now decorating Cuchulainn�s right ear. He doubted Cuchulainn would know who had placed it there, but he was certain that he would become very fond of that earring as a woman had bestowed it upon him and likely did it out of love for him. Indeed, Laeg felt a bit bad for stopping the pair before Cuchulainn passed out. The woman seemed very enamored with him and looked as though she was a bit heartbroken to have to leave.

When Arturia made it back over to Bedivere and Gawain, she saw Gawain�s grin grow from broad to surpassing the borders of his face. �Did you bring him back to life or kill him?� he asked, teasing her.

Arturia blushed and tied the ribbon back into place. �Please don�t be so crude, Gawain,� she said.

�My queen, one of your earrings has been�. replaced,� said Bedivere.

�I have given it away, it does not matter,� she said.

Emiya, however, had heard the sounds coming from the tent. He had heard her yelp of surprise, heard Cuchulainn�s growl, like that of a dog or a wolf, and heard her own sigh of pleasure. It made Emiya�s skin crawl to remember it, his veins burning with a hatred he was not accustomed to feeling.

They moved away from the tents of either side and made camp not far away. When they tried to sleep, it was then that the curse lifted from the men of Ulster and the battle truly began.